03 Nov The Downfall of Credibility Starts Where Emotions Begin

JUAN SAYS: Emotions are the biggest hurdle to any seasoned journalist. Our personal convictions have the capacity to taint how we view things thereby ignoring the processes that make us credible writers and journalists. In a nutshell, when we are charged with emotions, logic flies out the door. Journalists are expected to churn out articles sans their personal opinions, almost emotionless when writing. Opinion writers are no different, they have a moral obligation to exhaust research before writing their pieces. But today, as many Pinoys clamour for emotionally charged articles, writers have started to lean towards public viability rather than credibility. The more writers bash one person, the more shareable the articles. And today, with the onset of social media, share-ability is the name of the game.

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We at JUAN understand how Pinoy emotions roll. We understand that we have to tap into their inner feelings to solicit that much loved approval (or reproach, we don’t really care), but to sacrifice your credibility and integrity for the sake of expressing our disgust for something, is something that every journalist must think about. Hindi swede me-ma lang. When we turn into this, when we are ruled by our emotions, our disgust, and our determination to attach, then we become no better than Mocha Uson. At the very least, she doesn’t claim to be a seasoned journalist. Does she?